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Snow Heart: The Tales of Flurry Wintermoon Book One
Chapter One: Family Flurry buried her head in her talons, bearing the wicked blows from the rugged IceWing in front of her. His tail lashed out at her, drawing a painful blow across her horns. The merciless attacks continued... “Stop it, Avalanche!” squeaked Flurry. “It hurts!” “That’s the point!” growled her brother. “You’re such a softwing, Flurry. C’mon and fight me! I’m ready for any puny dragonet attacks you have!” Avalanche growled and flapped his wings to show how tough and ready he was. “No way! Besides, Mamma says that I’ll fight when I’m ready. And I’m not ready yet!” Flurry crossed the room and buried her snout in a stone bowl of water. Finding it too warm to her tastes, she cooled it by letting small spurts of ice-breath filter through her jaws. Satisfied, she lapped up the cool refreshment. “You’ll never be ready!” rumbled Avalanche. “You’ll always be a softwing. You’ll never get a mate ‘cause you’ll be so soft that all the other dragons are disgusted!” Flurry felt tears rush to her eyes. She let them flow, pulling her snout out of the stone bowl. “Hey, hey, hey.” Avalanche saw his little sister’s tears and went to her, opening his wing over her silvery scales. “I didn’t mean it! You’ll definitely get a mate. You’ll get the most handsome IceWing in all of Pyrrhia!” Flurry smiled. “You’ve been thinking about mates a lot. How’s it going between you and Eclipse?” Avalanche stepped back, then smiled. “It’s early, but I’m hopeful.” “‘Lanchie’s in looove! I’m going to go tell Borealis and Icicle and Taiga! And then I’ll tell Pine and Thaw and-” “Don’t!” Avalanche tackled his sister, laying his talons over her mouth. “If you tell any of our siblings it would be chaos! And your little friends would be even worse! It would spread like dragonpox!” He got off Flurry, preening his wings. “I’ll tell Mom and Dad when I’m ready.” “Not if you can’t catch me first!” “Ooh, I bet I can!” Flurry giggled as she raced down the ice-tunnel to the main cave, hearing her brother’s deep laughter as he chased her. Chapter Two: Lost and Found The deer had disappeared down the gullets of the four hungry dragonets and the dragon, and four dragonets had been sent to the nest-cave for sleep. Flurry was at peace, her silvery head on her white talons. Feeling the comforting chill of her sisters and brother, she snuggled deeper in the mound of blue... Her mother’s sharp claws shook Flurry out of her slumber. “Flurry! Get up!” “What? Mamma? What’s wrong?” Flurry opened her eyes. She could see Borealis, Taiga and Icicle, her siblings, huddled fearfully against a wall. “What’s going on? Where’s Papa? And Avalanche?” “They’re strong. They’ll make it.” As her mother’s ominous words rang in her ears, she noticed for the first time the snaps and claw-clanks of combat. Someone was in their ice-cave! And that dragon was fighting her father and brother! “Go with your brother and sisters, Flurry.” Flurry’s mother’s voice was calm, but Flurry could sense a bit of terror under her mask of cool. She obeyed. Soon the four dragonets and the dragon were rushing down an ice-tunnel that Flurry never remembered using before. “Where are we, Mamma?” Borealis’s voice rang out in the ice-tunnel. “Sssh, Borealis!” hissed Flurry’s mother. “Stay quiet, all of you, under any circumstances!” “What does circumstances me-” “Don’t talk!” In the sudden silence that followed, Flurry could hear that the horrendous noises of fighting dragons had ceased and had been replaced by angry snarls. “Where are the rest of your disgusting family?” boomed an unfamiliar IceWing voice. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Flurry’s father’s voice was strong yet strained, like he was fighting immense fatigue. “It’s just me and my nephew!” “Since you won’t talk, I suppose you’re no good then!” There was a small moment of silence before a gruesome slicing noise echoed through the ice-tunnels. Avalanche’s grief-ridden roar echoed along to Flurry as well. “Father!” All of the dragonets turned to their mother. “I-is Papa...?” squeaked Icicle, the second smallest. (the honor of smallest fell to Flurry.) “Go, go!” hissed their mother. Could Flurry detect an undertone of terror? But then the dragoness’s tail snapped as she rushed her brood along the mysterious ice-tunnel. ' ' ❊❊❊ ' ' The dragonets and their ice-blue mother broke out onto the surface, straight into a blizzard. Flurry could barely see the blurred shapes of her family inches from her silver snout. ' “Mamma, I’m scared!” cried Taiga, her blue scales shuddering. Flurry, too, felt terrified. She had been roughly disturbed from her slumber by those immense IceWings... Suddenly, there was a huge boom from the left. Flurry’s mother turned around so fast her whipping tail nearly hit Borealis. There, looming out of the snow, was another buffed-up IceWing. His muscles rippled as he leaned forward and hissed: “Where is the heir? WHERE IS SHE!?!” “I-i don’t know what you mean!” stuttered Flurry’s mother. “Give her to me NOW!” The IceWing’s tail swished through the air, not even a talons-length from severing the dragoness’s snout. “Run, my dragonets! Run!” she cried, and Flurry and her siblings turned to flee... THUMP! Another huge IceWing came to land between Flurry and her family. They were now trapped. She was now free. Oh no! W-what do I do! she thought, panicked. She was safe, at least until the IceWing noticed her... Then she saw Borealis' ice-blue snout poking out from behind the bulk of the dragon. “Run, Flurry. Run!” And she ran, tears pouring down her snout and the roar of IceWing combat chasing her through the shallow ice crevasse she had called home. She ran across the ledges that spanned its sides. She ran until her silver legs could carry her no more, and even then she flew until she could run again. She ran until the light of the midnight moon fell upon her ice-crusted scales, and she knew she was safe. The IceWing dragonet sat, chest heaving and heart hurting so hard she felt it would simply smash into a thousand pieces like shallow ice under a talon. Then that pain in her heart rose and got bigger until it swamped her entire body with sadness, and she cried. She cried so hard she didn’t notice the small flash of ice-blue scales from a pile of ice chunks behind her, and she certainly didn’t notice the tail that whipped so fast through the cold air that she barely had time to register pain before she passed into unconsciousness. But just before that moment, she felt something in her chest turn cold, a sliver of ice in her heart. Chapter Three: Dreams and New Friends Flurry woke up in an ice-cave, sunlight streaming through the entrance. For a moment, she thought she was at home in her comfy nest, but then she remembered last night. She gave a soft, pained cry and opened her eyes. The ice-cave looked like it had been inhabited for many moons. She was curled up in a soft dip in the floor, padded with moss. Over in a corner was a fire, hanging over which was a cauldron. An immense icicle dripped melted water into a stone bowl in the other corner. Flurry realized the nest she was in was on a small plateau in the stone floor. Across from her, at the far wall, a bundle of moss had been thrown pell-mell as a substitute nest. “Hello?” she whispered. There were no tunnels leading off from the ice-cave, so she was positive there was no other dragon in the cave. She sighed and laid down her head, drifting into slumber once more... ' ' '❊❊❊ ' ' Everything was muffled and covered up in blue and white, like looking through an ice-encrusted window. She couldn’t see, she could only hear. And what she heard scared her. She was moving. She could feel the soft breath of wind and hear clawsteps on ice. '' ''“Echo? Is that you?” '' ''“Yes, it’s me.” She could hear Echo’s voice better, like the dragoness was right next to her. She felt the vibrations of Echo’s voice in her bones. “Do you have the heir’s egg?” “Yes.” There was a sliding noise and Echo continued walking. She went with the dragoness. She had no choice but to go with her, she couldn’t move. She tried opening her mouth and asking Echo where she was, but there was a smooth bubble of air around her, keeping her from suffocating. Where was she? Why couldn’t she see? Was she in... an egg? ' ' ❊❊❊ ' ' “KYAAAH!” Flurry woke from her dream with a screech. An egg? How could she possibly remember being an egg? Then she took a look around the ice-cave. It was still empty, but someone had put out the fire, and lying on a flat rock was the body of an albatross. She stood up and groaned, shaking out the kinks in her back. She felt as if she’d been sleeping for a thousand moons! The smell of the albatross reached her nostrils and she noticed how ravenous she was. But this ice-cave had someone other than her in it... She was so hungry, though... She shook her head and walked out of the ice-cave. The sky arched above, evening-time blue and undisturbed by a single cloud. She luxuriated in the sun, letting it warm her silver scales. Looking at those scales, she had a terrifying thought: No one else in my family had silver scales! Mamma, Papa, Lanchie, Borealis... They all were ice-blue! Why am I silver? Then she heard it: the cry of a hunting IceWing. It was close... She looked up at the sky to see an ice-blue dragon spiraling down. Quickly she jumped behind a pile of rocks. Soon there was a thump, and she looked over the pile of rocks to see a handsome IceWing dragonet. He lashed his tail a few times and looked around, confused. “I was sure she was here...” Flurry heard him mutter. Then he walked into the ice-cave. Flurry relaxed and walked away from her hiding spot... Just as the strange dragonet walked out of the cave. “Ah-ha! There you are!” “Pleasedonthurtmeimjustadragonet!” she squeaked and pulled her wings over her head, trembling. There was a moment of silence. “What?” said the dragonet. “You were sent to capture me! Like the rest of my family!” “No, I wasn’t...” “Y-you weren’t?” Flurry peeked up. The good-looking IceWing was gazing down at her with a confused, but kind expression. “I did hit you, and I’m sorry about that, but I didn’t know if you were one of Queen Snowfall’s assassins.” “Queen Snowfall’s assassins?” “Nevermind that. I’m Frost. Who are you?” He sure changed the topic fast. “I’m Flurry.” “Well, Flurry, it’s nice to meet you. C’mon in. There’s an albatross with your name on it! Chapter Four: Frozen Heart In a matter of minutes the albatross was gone. Flurry curled up, her stomach tight, when Frost started the fire again. She cracked open one eye and said: “What’s that for? It’s not that late...” “Yes it is.” Flurry looked outside and was shocked to see royal purples and soft golds beginning to climb across the sky. She really hadn’t realized how late it was! She turned back to look at the licking flames. The two dragonets sat in silence for a few moments before Frost said softly: “So what happened to you?” “W-what do you mean?” “Your heart. It’s frozen.” “Huh?! My heart is frozen? What?” “It’s hard to miss, Flurry. Something terrible has happened to you, so terrible that you couldn’t cope with it. So the part of you that lets you laugh easily and have fun, your heart, froze over, to help you live with your loss. Until you can cope, you’ll never laugh or play with others again.” Flurry remembered that sudden cold in her chest just before Frost hit her. Just as she thought about it, it became obvious. The cold throbbed in her scales, bringing not sadness or pain, but something much worse: an absence of feeling or hope, a void of nothing but blackness. And Flurry feared that, if she kept the sadness that had caused it inside, it would freeze not just her heart, but all of her. She looked down at her chest where she felt the chill of the emptiness inside, and was amazed to see a black heart shape inscribed on her scales. She took a deep breath and began to tell Frost her story. “B-before you found me, I was running away from some IceWings that came in my cave and killed my papa and we were running away and two of them separated us and now I don’t know if they’re even aliiiive!” Flurry ended her story as a wail, all of the memories returning to her in a flood of misery and terror. Suddenly there was a flash of ice-blue scales and Frost was curled next to her, his wing curled over her. His sharp talons gently stroked her paw. She looked up at him and he smiled. “It’s gonna be okay.” he said softly. Slowly, she nodded. Then she leaned against him and closed her eyes, feeling the comforting chill of his scales, and the pair fell asleep as the sun set over the snowy plains of the IceWing territory. ❊❊❊ It was cold. Very cold. She could still feel Echo’s talons wrapping around her, and wind whistled around, faster than normal. From this accompanied wingbeats. She was flying with Echo! But... where were they going? “It’s going to be okay, Princess.” Echo’s voice reverberated in her skull. “I’m taking you to my sister’s. She has a clutch of eggs herself. They probably won’t notice just one more.” There was a long silence, then Echo began to spiral down. They landed with a thump and a soft onrush of wind. Echo began to walk downwards, carrying her firmly. Suddenly there was a screech and Echo snapped her head up. The furiously beating wings of a bird came closer and closer, before zooming past her. '' ''“That was a dragon hatchling, not even out of the egg yet... Ah! Fate smiles upon us, Princess! You will be a replacement for the dead one!” whispered Echo excitedly. She hurried down farther, then stopped and put her down. There were scraping noises, then the dragoness picked her up again and put her nose to the icy covering. “Goodbye, little princess. Live and be strong, and soon you will be sitting on the throne of the IceWing Queen!” then she put her down next to something cold and comfortable. She could hear Echo’s clawsteps as she walked away and took off up the tunnel. She ignored her and closed her eyes, comforted by the feeling of being in a nest once more... ' ' ❊❊❊ ' ' '“Flurry! Hey! Wake up, you lazy dragon!” Flurry woke to Frost’s friendly voice calling her. Sleepily, she rose her head and looked around. He wasn’t anywhere in the cave. She turned around groggily and there he was, outside, hovering in mid-air. ' "Uhhh. Why am I up?" groaned Flurry. "Because it's training time!" "Training? What?" "You don't know how to fight, do you, Flurry?" "No." "Well then, let's get started! Chapter Five: The Chasm So the mysterious dragonet began to teach Flurry the rules of combat. Every day, she got up and mimicked Frost's movements for stretching all the muscles in her little body, which was the best part of the day. Then she was taught how to kick so strongly she could smash ice blocks with one hit, and taught how to rip flesh off bones with one swipe of her silver talons. More advanced maneuvers included at trick where she would latch her paws on the attacker's neck and slide under their belly, releasing her choking grip to lash at the wing membranes of the attacker. Then Frost moved on to aerial feats, twisting Flurry in so many spirals and tight corners that when they went back to the ice-cave at the end of the day she could barely see straight. Moons passed and, through their lessons, Flurry and Frost became close. Every night she would snuggle under his wing and listen to the stories he told of the other lands in Pyrriha and beyond. His words soothed her so much after a tough day of training that she would fall asleep right there, she was so content. And as time passed, the ache in her chest from the emptiness inside was lessened and lessened, and the mark on her scales got less of a pitch-black and more of a faded dark blue. Frost became the only family she needed, a comforting presence everywhere he went. And Flurry realized that she had fallen in love. Then one day Frost shook her from her slumber. The sky was black, twinkling with stars. "What now?" she moaned. "It's time for your final lesson." whispered Frost in her ear."Where we're going is not safe, so watch out." Flurry followed him out of the ice-cave and into the sky, soaring over the ice and snow of the tundra. Soon he came to a stop and began to spiral downwards. Flurry followed. Soon they were at the lip of an ice-canyon like she had never seen. It was so much larger than the one she had grown up in, a almost direct descent to a hard ice floor. Flurry, even with her sharp dragon eyes, could not see the bottom. Sharp spikes of rock-hard ice jutted out of the walls, making a maze down to the very bottom of the gaping hole. "Welcome," said Frost in a reverential whisper, "to the Chasm." Flurry gasped and stepped back from the steep drop. "You've heard the stories." said Frost. "Of course I have. Every dragonet from here to the sea has heard about the Chasm. Why are we here at this place of death? No dragon has made it out alive." "I believe you can get to the bottom. You're the finest fighter I've ever seen, and that's the truth." "Really? You think I can... do it?" Flurry remembered being a young dragonet and her sisters playing a game. She had asked to join and they had both said that she couldn't do it. Both of her brothers had said this countless times and she had even heard her mother whispering about her inability to fly or fight like the others. It was something she had heard her whole life, and now, here was this dragonet who had burst into her life so violently saying with utter conviction that she could do it. For the first time in many moons, her heart gave a thump. "I can do it." she whispered. "Atta girl!" crowed Frost. Flurry steeled her now much stronger muscles, ready for flight. "Flurry, what you need to do is jump down the ice spikes to get to the bottom, where there's a package. Get it and get back up to me." "Won't I get lost?" "There's only one path down from this spot, and that path leads to the package. Now go!" and Flurry launched herself in the air. ' ' The Chasm had a strange effect on you in the air. Flurry had to fly to get to the first spike that Frost had marked, the starting position. As she soared through the air she looked down at the overgrown forest of cold thorns below her. Suddenly she felt as if she wasn't flying but falling through the air. The vertigo startled her and she came to land with a thump on the marked spike. As she stood there, panting, she heard a creak from where the spike jutted from a wall. She curiously went to go look and shrieked. The ice-spikes were not growing out of the wall, as she had thought earlier. They were attached to the wall by a tangle of ice threads, tiny and fragile. That meant the spikes could easily fall down with any extra weight, even something as light as a ptarmigan. Flurry was standing on a death trap. Hurriedly she launched herself off the starting spike to one lower down, hearing the one above creak dangerously. She launched herself down just as the one she was on began to fall, ice shards pinging against her scales. She didn't look down, just jumped. Soon Flurry was racing through the falling spikes. The spaces between them were too small to fly in, and she saw skeletons of unlucky ermine and ptarmigans everywhere. Their bones crunched underneath her feet as she frantically flew through the chilly maze, her trail of shattered destruction behind her. Suddenly she had to skid to a halt on a spike. There were two paths before her, and both up and down was a thick tangle of the deadly ice. She was going to have to choose. Flurry felt her head begin to swim as the spike underneath her creaked, reminding her that her time was running out. Why would Frost do this? Is he trying to kill me? Both ways are identical. W-what do I do? Then she remembered a similar thought running through her head before. It was when Borealis told her to run. She had ran, but how had she chosen the path across the ice-canyon's ledges that led to this heaven with Frost? She hadn't thought. She had just ran. Just...ran... Flurry rocketed off the ice-spike as it fell beneath her, crashing and breaking on the thick icy web beneath. She landed in the right path and began to run, hearing the spikes fall underneath after she passed. She went deeper and deeper into the Chasm, following her instinct with her strong silver talons as she raced down the fatal spikes. Soon she came across a thin plate of ice in a round cavern of sorts. Underneath the plate she could see a brown stone on a pile of ice chunks. With a powerful kick she smashed through the plate and nabbed the package, carrying it in her talons as she ran/flew through her safe path of chaos, back through the Chasm, back to Frost awaiting her return. Chapter Six: Kidnapped Flurry gasped and flopped on the snowy ground like a fish, panting and catching her breath. The sound of smashing ice rang in the air from her footsteps in the deadly canyon. As she lay there, a familiar blue face came into her vision, smiling broadly. "You made it." "I did, no thanks to you. Here's your stupid package." she handed it to Frost and rolled over, groaning. "Now leave me alone. I'm going home, and you are getting no attention until at the very least next moon." she pulled herself up grudgingly and was about to trudge home when she felt a slight chain around her neck. She looked down at her chest where her heart-mark was and saw a necklace of gold strung around her scales, shaped exactly like the mark. It was a piece of the famous Ice Kingdom ice sapphire, like glass with an ice-blue tint. It hung right over her mark, amplifying it and making it look like part of the necklace. It was beautiful. As she turned around in wonder, Frost smiled at her. "It suits you." he said. "Oh, Frost, it's beautiful!" exclaimed Flurry. "I knew you'd like it." "Is that why you sent me down there? So you could give me this?" "So I could give it to you in a dramatic fashion, yes." "Frost...!" And, much to his surprise, Flurry crashed into him and nuzzled him, snuggling under his wing. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou," she murmured. "Thank you so mu-" suddenly, Frost put his wing over Flurry's snout. "Shhhhhh." he whispered. Flurry looked anxiously around at the black night sky speckled with stars. What was wrong? What was Frost listening for? Then he took his wing off her snout and sighed. "What's wrong?" whispered Flurry, still startled. " Nothing. I thought I heard wingbeats. Anyway, I gave you that beca-" SLAM! A giant silver IceWing with iron armor hit the ground behind Frost so hard a few more ice-spikes fell in the Chasm. Flurry stared up at her, shocked. She noticed the insignia on her metal covering- a snowflake with a mountain behind it. The sign of Queen Snowfall. The dragoness bowed her head to leer at Frost. "Hello again, dear. Who's your little friend?" "Freyja." snarled Frost. "Long time no see." "Oh darling, I missed you!" cried Freyja as she swung her tail at Frost. "Don't be so cruel!" Then began Frost's battle with the Queen's guard. The pair snapped at each other, tails whirling and claws flashing. The pair seemed to know each other so well that the tricks they pulled on each other were easily avoided by other, more elaborate tricks. As Flurry watched them fight, another guard suddenly fell out of the sky on top of Flurry, snarling and tearing at her silver scales. This one's clever. thought Flurry as she struggled under his grip. He had fallen on her in such a way that she couldn't risk attempting to get up for fear of his strong talons tearing her wings. So she was forced to snap her neck around and attempt to bite him with her sharp teeth or breathe ice on him. The guard slashed at her with one paw, growling. Flurry was preoccupied with the roaring menace on her back until there was a cut-off cry from the spot of Frost's battle with Freyja. When Flurry looked, he wasn't left standing. Freyja stood, gloating, over Frost's comatose body. He was so still, and the wound on his eye spurted so much blood, that for a moment Flurry thought he was dead. "Frost?" she whispered, so softly that her own ears could barely hear it. "Come on, Mjolnir." the dragoness addressed the attacker on top of Flurry. "Just kill her, then we grab Frost and go. Doesn't take much effort." Flurry heard none of the pair's conversation. She was staring at Frost, watching his blood run over his face and pool on the ground. She remembered her father's dying scream and the way Frost had gently taken the necklace and draped it around her neck, ever so tenderly... You can't let him die... YOU. CAN'T. LET. HIM... DIE! And suddenly her frozen heart gave a snap inside her chest. Ice flowed from the now-black heart-mark, covering her body in a frosty coat so thick Mjolnir's incoming paw bounced right off. Inside her, Flurry felt the black void spread, giving otherworldly strength to her limbs. She roared and pushed the attacker off. What Flurry couldn't tell about her new form was how she truly looked. The ice was not normal ice. It was clear except at her chest,where you could easily see the heart-mark spreading black tendrils all around, joining to her silver scales. The ice arced in two tendrils up her neck, making a gladiator-like helmet on her face. Her eyes glowed black. She roared and both Freyja and Mjolnir stepped back in shock, almost treading on the defenseless Frost. Flurry had, in effect, become a war machine, a creature whose sole goal in life was to kill them for hurting her precious Frost, her teacher, her family, her secret love. She charged. The guards, startled at the transformation, panicked and snatched the wounded dragonet, taking off into the night sky. Flurry trumpeted her anger and followed them, her fury an aura that the guards felt even from a distance. She flapped her ice-encrusted wings and saw the dragonet in their claws. He was still handsome even with the blood flowing from his maimed eye over his blue scales. He turned his head painfully and saw Flurry in all her frozen glory, rocketing through the sky like there were wolves at her heels. Deep in his mind, he was still trying to protect her. He loved her and she had been so weak, so scarred by the mark on her chest and the terrible memories behind her, and he knew that the royal palace would hurt her more. So, with great effort, he whispered into the rushing air: "Flurry...no..." Even though she was too far away to possibly hear Frost's weak plea, Flurry halted in her onrush. The anger she felt melted away slowly, turning into great sadness and fear. The extraterrestrial strength flooded out of her limbs, and the ice disappeared. She was left, hovering in the air, her wings giving slow beats as she watched Frost get carried away. And, down in the snow next to the Chasm, a necklace glittered. Chapter Seven: The Monster in the Snow Flurry landed with a soft poof in the snow, her muscles hurting like never before. When she had been running from home, she had been lost and scared, and she had had no idea where she was going. Now she knew what she had to do. The idea had become an obsession in her mind ever since Frost had been taken away two days ago. She had trailed the two guards over plain and tundra, even though they had disappeared long before, she kept heading in the general direction they had been going. She had to find Frost. The forest she was now in was, as always, pine trees, their heavily needled branches hanging low to the ground, weighed down with snow. She was exhausted, but this was no place to camp out. She wandered through the trees, knocking snow off them with her lashing tail. She needed someplace where she couldn't see the sky, and, more importantly, anything in the sky couldn't see her. The darkness was beginning to press in on her silver scales, but Flurry didn't care. Soon she found a glade where the dappled moonlight no longer shone down on her. She snuggled in the snow, forming a nest with her own body. Once she had, she lay her head down to rest... The undergrowth rustled. Her head shot up and she peered through the icy brush. For a moment, nothing. Then, a soft but audible growl. An IceWing plunged through the frosty needles. At first, she thought he was her opponent, but his face was a mask of fear. Flurry noticed, a little shocked, that he was trailing fresh blood. Something had ripped one of his hind legs off. Something behind the terrified dragon roared, making even more sticks crack and bushes be crushed. The IceWing flopped down in the snow, heaving and panting. His black eyes rolled in his head, showing the whites. "Fly away!" he wheezed. "Fly away and never come back! It's comi-" Then the thing crashed through the undergrowth and crushed the dragon's tail. It was standing on its hind legs, entire body covered in scales. But its neck was short and the wings that sprouted from its back were tiny and feathered. It turned away from Flurry and proceeded to gut the crippled IceWing. She could hear his choked screams as she turned to flee... It turned and fixed its yellow eyes on her. Flurry stood stock-still. It screeched and began to charge, clawed arms dripping with blood. Flurry raced off, her legs propelling her as fast as they could go. Yet still it was beginning to catch up, screaming at her as she began to take flight through the needled trees. Then, a break in the wood. Flurry skidded to a halt just as a canyon, deep and wide, appeared before her. I wonder if that thing can fly... It roared, a horrendous noise that ended in a hiss that sounded like metal rasping against metal. Flurry flipped around, facing the monster. However, its speed took her by surprise and it clipped her wing. Ignoring the pain, she continued to dodge the beast's attacks. Unbidden, Frost's voice rang in her head... You may be small, but you're fast. Use your enemy's strength against them. Always look around when you're fighting. Just one trip over a rock could mean victory or defeat. She continued to dodge the snarling creature's talons, letting it force her backwards towards the canyon. Finally, she felt the very back of her foot go over the edge. Everything happened in a flash as Flurry initiated her plan. She stood on her hind legs and slashed the creature with a talon. Its warm blood dripped down her arm as she was forced to lean back, away from the now-enraged beast’s claws. She stood there, perched on the ledge, her tail held out as she stood, chest bare and unprotected. The creature took the chance like she knew it would, bringing back its tiny arm to claw straight through Flurry’s heart, but just as it unleashed its scrawny limb, Flurry disappeared. However, the creature still had momentum, and its swinging arm threw it bodily into the void. She watched as the beast flapped its tiny wings, too puny to lift it to safety. Slowly, she flapped her wings and gained height, spiraling up towards the midnight sky, the only sound the thump as the monster hit bottom hard. Then that was over, too, and Flurry was alone in the night. Chapter Eight: Journey to the Ice Palace It had been three days since her battle with the monster, and five since Frost had been abducted. Now Flurry neared the mountain where Queen Snowfall’s palace clung to the stone like a giant icicle. In fact, she was on that mountain. But in her way was a snowstorm, a blizzard that threatened to send her tumbling back the way she came. Ice crusted her silver scales as she fought it, her wings over her head. Eventually she gave up and buried herself in the snow, making a tiny cave that the raging elements blasted over, and sat with her own thoughts. It never occurred to me why Frost was kidnapped by the Queen’s guards. she thought, listening to the raging storm outside with only half her attention. What if he’s her son? What if he’s a banished noble? What if he’s... Oh, I don’t know. It’s silly to be thinking about what could be instead of what is. I know he would have never left me on purpose... Flurry stared down at her heart-mark and sighed, the sound abnormally loud in the inclosed space. The fact that she could easily hear it made her stop and listen. The roaring of the storm had subsided. Swiftly she dug her way out and looked around. All was clear. As she climbed out fully, the sun peeked through the clouds, lighting up.... By the First Egg! It was the Queen’s palace. It jutted into the sky, entirely made of cloudy ice. The elevation of the frozen spectacle insured that it would never melt. The main body, a giant spike, was surrounded by smaller spikes, making it like a giant city of icicles. Flurry stared at it in wonder. Then she shook her head and bristled the spikes on her neck a few times, just to remind herself to get back in focus. The silver IceWing with the frozen heart then began to stomp through the snow, heading towards a palace of ice. Chapter Nine: The City of Ice Flurry knew nothing about majesty or hierarchy, and she certainly didn’t know about how the queens of the dragon races were always in a silent, unbidden competition to make their palaces the most beautiful. It was as if the structures said, without the queen even having to open her mouth, This is the best place to be. The rest of you can go live in shame. The IceWing palace was simple in its design, but incredibly graceful. Flurry, as soon as she managed to get in, realized the place was a city, just in one huge building. The smaller icicles were separate rooms, each one capable of holding many dragons. The spikes on the outside were storage rooms, the middle, thicker layer of spikes were markets and the homes of servants and citizens, mostly in the Fifth and Sixth Circles. A circle of spikes around the main was the place of Queen Snowfall’s knights, of the Third and Second Circles, and the Great Icicle, as it was called, was where the queen herself lived, on its upper layer. The lower layer of the Great Icicle was the centre of the city, and it was there that Flurry invariably found herself. IceWings were everywhere, rushing around the lost dragonet in a raging torrent of various tones of blue and silver. By the time she reached the Great Icicle, she was exhausted, and had sustained many bumps and evil looks from the dragons going faster than her in the unbidden pace of the city. The lower layer of the Icicle was a place of peace and contentment for her. An enormous fountain was in the middle of the sparkling room, the sprays of water completely frozen and staying in the sky like a waterfall of glittering diamonds. Flurry curled up on the stone ledge of the fountain’s bowl, frost laying out underneath her in an intricate pattern laid out by IceWing breath. Where do I go now? she thought, worried. A raucous coughing sound drew her attention from her immediate problem and she turned her head to see an ancient IceWing sitting next to her. At first glance, the female seemed old and decrepit, but Flurry realized she was not really that old. A disease had ravaged her appearance, bleaching her scales a snowy white and making the spikes on her back droop. The seemingly aged IceWing noticed Flurry staring at her, and wheezed “Hello there, young one! And why are you in the city?” The question took the dragonet by surprise. She couldn’t very well tell the sad dragon about her quest to retrieve Frost, so she simply said, “I want to be one of the Queen’s knights.” “Ah ha ha!” croaked the dragoness. “You think you have what it takes to be part of Snowfall’s Guard? You’re brave, little one. I like that. You know, I can help you achieve your dream, if you’ll trust me.” “All right.” said the young IceWing warily. Such an unfortunate dragoness couldn’t possibly hurt her. “I’m Flurry. Fifth Circle.” “One small flurry can often tell of an oncoming blizzard.” the white IceWing suddenly seemed almost sage-like. “The name’s Echo, of the Second Circle. Now, come with me, little Flurry. I’ll introduce you to the Queen’s Guard.” ❊❊❊ The room Echo led her to was simple and had in it a chunk of stone and a sleeping IceWing with iron armor. The dragoness walked right up to the irregular block and slammed it with her tail. “Get up, Arctic!” shrieked Echo in a louder voice than Flurry had thought possible. The unfortunate Arctic gave a start and woke up, flexing the spikes on his back. Arctic seemed to be one of the rare IceWings who were so pale they were almost the color of snow. He wasn’t as white as Echo, who practically looked like something had come along and sucked all pigment out of her scales, but he was a whitish-blue that gave Flurry the awkward impression that she was looking at a dragon that had been carved out of snowflakes. “What do you want, Echo?” he moaned, plopping his head on his talons. “I want you to put this dragonet in the Queen’s Guard.” Arctic turned to look at Flurry with a disbelieving gaze. She returned his glare with a poisonous one of her own. She could already see that he was stuck-up and pompous. Dragons such as him wouldn’t stand between her and Frost. “Yes, I want to be a knight. My name is Flurry, of the Fifth Circle.” she said, her voice strong and stern in the icy room. Arctic continued to look at her. He seemed to be considering his chances: let the little dragonet in, or refuse? She looked young, but he could see how defined her muscles were. And the heart-mark on her chest was rather unnerving... "All right." said the iron-clad dragon. "I'll let you in to be tested. But if you fail, nothing can get you back in but Queen Snowfall herself, you got it?" "Yes!" said Flurry with a strange amount of hope. She was one step closer to finding and rescuing Frost! Her almost-happy half-dreams of rescuing her former mentor were interrupted by Echo’s coughing laughter. “You’re ambitious, little Flurry!” she squawked, her head bobbing up and down with a strange mirth. It was then that the young dragonet realized why she trusted the crippled dragoness, and why she was comfortable around her. Echo had brought her to her family. And that meant that she wasn’t actually part of her family at all. Flurry reeled back, the realization striking her like a physical blow. She remembered her egg-dreams well, and had often pondered what they were and what they meant. Echo had brought her to her sister’s family, to hide her. But hide her from what? Flurry racked her brain, recalling every detail she could... One sentence popped up, unbidden, in her mind: “Goodbye, little princess. Live and be strong, and soon you shall be sitting on the throne of the IceWing Queen!” Princess? She was Queen Snowfall’s daughter? No, it wasn’t possible. Flurry had heard what had happened to the Queen’s only clutch of eggs. Each one had been smashed by SkyWings, thieves in the night who exacted revenge on the innocent Snowfall by killing her only children. No one knew who the vigilantes were, or if they had ever been punished. Rumors had said that Queen Goshawk herself had sent them. Flurry was no more the Princess than a ptarmigan! Yet the doubt stayed in her mind as she collected herself and let Arctic lead her away, to the Knight Arena, outside of the Palace itself. Chapter Ten: The Queen's Champion The Knight Arena, as Arctic explained to the silent Flurry, was the place where all members of the Queen’s Guard went to train. It was also where the Queen’s Champion, her highest trainee, tested the dragons who wanted to enter the Guard. “You’ll want to watch the new Champion carefully,” warned Arctic as they flew above the bare tundra. “He’s new, but he knows the ropes. He doesn’t speak often, either. The strictest Champion I’ve seen yet, and he scares the scales off of everyone with that scar of his.” “Oh really.” said Flurry, only half-listening. “What’s his name, anyhow?” “Tundra Permafrost." "Hmm." mumbled the dragonet. She didn’t like Arctic, but the Guard member seemed intent on telling her everything about the life at the Ice Palace that he could think of. He was in the middle of a story about the storeroom next to the Guard’s barracks when Flurry yelled: “Oh look! There’s the Arena!” hurriedly and swooped down, landing on the snow-covered ice with a soft thump. She faced a row of IceWings, each one tough and strong. They ranged from brightest silver to nearly sky-blue, and stared at Flurry with a confused air. She was busy staring back when she felt Arctic land beside her. “Who’s the dragonet?” called a male from halfway down the line. “A new member. Where’s Blizzard?” responded the whitish dragon. “Right here, Arctic.” came a soft, almost slithering feminine voice from above. The Arena was built with rows of ledges, for use in both tactical practice, storage and so the Queen could come and watch. Up high, on one of the biggest ledges, a beautiful female IceWing gazed down at the Guardmembers with a snooty air. The female was oddly colored, with her head and neck pale icy blue that faded into a glimmering silver and then became whitish at the very tip of her lashing tail. On her right arm was a golden bracelet, and, if Flurry squinted, she could see two diamonds in her left ear that sparkled like tiny stars. Every scale of her radiated a plush sense that this dragon cared very much about her looks. Yet, at the same time, that plushness seemed to mask a sharp wildness inside, like the dragoness was a barely tamed beast. She may have stayed by your side and did what you said, but at any moment she could turn feral and bite off your tail. “Come down, please.” called Arctic, and for the first time Flurry could detect another emotion in his voice other than superiority, one of fear. Blizzard sailed down on pearly blue-white wings, landing on the hard-packed ice almost silently. She appraised Flurry with gleaming black eyes, then turned to the white, iron-clad dragon. “What is the meaning of this?” she hissed, gesturing at Flurry with her tail. The dragonet felt a surge of anger. This pale, ermine-brained, snooty dragoness didn’t even register her as an IceWing- maybe not even as a dragon! How dare she? How dare she?! Flurry was so incensed that she stepped in front of Arctic and stared at Blizzard face-on. “I’m here to join the Guard.” proclaimed the silver dragonet. “And I want to see the Queen’s Champion so I can be tested.” This knowledge was from Frost, who taught her about the ranking of the Guard after training. So the only dragon Flurry was remotely interested in was that Tundra Permafrost that she had heard about. “The Queen's Champion? Really.” hissed the pearly dragoness, circling Flurry like she was a wounded caribou. “Well, dear, you’re looking at one of them.” The silver dragonet gasped. This nasty dragon was Queen Snowfall’s highest trainee? “What about Tundra Permafrost?” she asked, bewildered. “There can be two Champions at a time.” “W-well then, Blizzard, I’ll leave you to test her. Bye!” Arctic hesitantly said, already taking off. In a matter of moments his steel-clad form was speeding off in the distance. The Champion gazed at Flurry, then said: “Very well, dragonet. I’ll test you. You better be good, else someone may leave here without a couple talons. Go up on a ledge and wait- if your tiny wings can lift you up.” Flurry angrily bristled her spikes, then soared up to a ledge, where she curled up, waiting and eyeing Blizzard with a smoldering glare. Chapter Eleven: Queen of the Ice Dragons In the top of the Great Icicle, a moon-pale IceWing was listening to her council. Queen Snowfall was not a young dragoness, but she was not old either. The lines on her delicate snout were from stress and anxiety. She was, deep down, a sweet and easily offended dragon, but even so she made for a good ruler. Her judgement was fair and just, and her people loved her. She had a tendency to make good decisions. Except, she thought, in one case... When Snowfall had heard that her current Queen’s Champion, a dragon named Frost, had fled, she had panicked. She trusted him with every military secret she had to offer. He was simply that kind of IceWing, and he had won her loyalty easily. But the secrets he carried were too dangerous to have bandied about Pyrrhia, especially since that terrible scandal that Queen Goshawk had invented to get back at Snowfall. That never failed to depress the IceWing Queen, thinking of her clutch’s blood on the floor. She had never had the heart to remate. She had loved Polar too much. It had seemed sacrilegious to forget him with a new male. Queen Snowfall spared a glance to the dragon at her right. She had finally retrieved Frost, much to her relief... and regret. Poor Frost seemed as cold as ice now, and not only that, the guards she sent to get him had harmed the handsome IceWing. That hadn’t been in her instructions, and she had them kicked out of the Queen’s Guard as soon as she saw the wound across his left eye. It would scar, in fact, it already had. “...And so, Queen, what is your counsel?” One of the members of the Council finished. “...Um? Oh, I’m sorry, I lapsed a bit. If the victim was not hurt permanently, give the attacker a few days in prison and service. I believe the Small Lower Left quadrant storerooms need a good caretaker, hmm? I think that would be ideal. Tell this... Iceberg that she will be escorted to the underprison. Make sure they don’t hurt her.” Suddenly a dragonet rushed in and walked up to Snowfall, whispering in her ear. “Ah, thank you. You are dismissed.” Snowfall watched the messenger dragonet hurry away, then she stood. Frost stood with her. “I have just received word that there is a dragonet wanting to be in the Guard, and what’s worse, she managed to raise Blizzard’s hackles. I must go and observe, so the poor thing does not get too badly hurt... Thank you for your help and guidance, wise Council of the Ice Palace. You are free to leave.” And with that, the Queen of the IceWings swept out of the room, her old Champion at her side. Chapter Twelve: Battle for the Guard To Flurry’s horror, she fell asleep on the ice-ledge in the Arena. She was just so tired and worn-out from her journeys that her eyes drifted shut. It didn’t help that Blizzard had taken a stupidly long time to get to her test. Flurry was sure that the ermine-brained dragoness was taunting her, but she daren’t say anything, or the Champion might refuse to let her take the test. She woke when a member of the Guard flew to the ledge and pulled her tail, which caused her to wake up, jump, and nearly claw his eyes out. He was in stitches. Flurry snorted at him and glided down to the floor of the icy amphitheatre. She faced Blizzard, even though she had to literally look up to meet her eyes. “Are you ready, little dragonet? If you pass the test, you get into the Guard.” “I have to defeat you?” asked the little dragon. “No. That’s nearly impossible, especially because you’re so tiny. You just have to do well enough fighting me for me to let you in.” “All right.” Flurry stretched one leg out, then the other, repeating the process with all of her limbs. “I’m ready.” And with that, the Champion launched herself at the silver IceWing. Flurry barely had time to dodge her grasping talons and she landed a few feet away, with a puff of snow. She looked back and Blizzard snarled at her, exposing rows of razor-sharp teeth. Flurry was shocked to see true bloodlust in the pale dragoness’ eyes. Calm down, Flurr. Look at her. Who does she remind you of? The answer was blatantly clear as the Champion threw herself at her opponent once more, nearly slicing through Flurry’s delicate wing membranes. Blizzard was like the beast in the forest that she had fought. The IceWing, when she fought, put every iota of herself into winning, mainly using her brute strength to ensure victory. And just like the monster, it would be that strength that would be her downfall. Flurry dipped and weaved, avoiding her opponent’s dangerous claws and fangs, as well as being forced to circumvent blasts of frostbreath. Finally, she reared up on her hind legs and stood there, her wings spread for balance. Blizzard looked at her, shock registering in her black eyes for a moment before she gave a bloodcurdling grin. “Giving up, are you?” Flurry gulped but stayed in her precarious position. She was truly terrified. The Champion may have no brains, but her strength was not something to be trifled with. She knew full well that her foe could easily break her bones... Or worse. Blizzard roared and leaped at Flurry’s chest, her ridged talons spread, and the silver IceWing saw her chance. Inches before her adversary's talons hit her, she jumped up, soaring over the Champion and landing squarely on her back. Blizzard thrashed and snarled, trying to bite Flurry’s claws, but the young IceWing had her firmly pinned down. “Submit!!” snarled Flurry in the Champion’s ear. “NEVER!!!” bellowed the trapped dragoness. Flurry was about to say more to her, or dig her claws even deeper into the Champion’s wings, when a voice rang out from one of the ledges. “That is enough!” Flurry and Blizzard looked up simultaneously. Standing on one of the icy ridges was a beautiful moon-silver dragoness, resplendent, with blue cloth attached to her wings and a icesapphire crown on her head. There was another dragon next to her, one with ice-blue scales and a scar over one eye. And when Flurry saw him, it was as if her heart stopped. Frost! Frost was in the Ice Kingdom. And he was standing next to the Queen. Chapter Thirteen: Have I Lost You? As Flurry stared, Blizzard wriggled away from her enemy’s talons and hurriedly stood, adjusting her golden wristband. “Q-Queen Snowfall!” exclaimed the Champion. “I was just testing this dragonet!” “I think you’ve tested the poor thing enough, Blizzard.” said Snowfall as she glided down on moon-colored wings. She faced Flurry. “Are you all right?” she asked kindly. The calm voice snapped Flurry back into reality, and she focused on the Queen’s eyes. Suddenly, Flurry got the strange feeling that she was looking at herself. Queen Snowfall was the exact same shade of moon-silver she was, and with the same darker grey underbelly. They even had an identical delicate head shape. The nagging thought- that she could possibly be a princess of the First Circle- bit all the harder in her head, like an angry snake. Flurry ruffed out her neck-spikes a few times to help her focus, a habit she was fast falling into, and looked straight back into the Queen’s eyes. They were bright black and sparkled with kindness, but that warm-hearted look seemed to mask a deep, hurtful melancholy from a long-ago wound to her soul. She felt herself relating to the pain in Snowfall’s eyes. She knew full well about what wounds you could take on your heart. “Your Majesty,” said Flurry, dipping her head in respect. “I am Flurry, of the Fifth Circle, and I believe I just joined the Queen’s Guard.” “You certainly did, Flurry of the Fifth Circle. How did a little dragonet like you come here, to the Knight Arena?” asked the Queen, smiling. “Um, a dragoness called Echo...” To Flurry’s surprise, Queen Snowfall snorted. “Echo again!? How many times have I told her to stop entering little IceWings into the Guardmembers! She bullied Arctic into it, didn’t she?” “...yes.” “Your Majesty.” said a gruff voice. Snowfall turned and Flurry’s heart nearly burst with happiness. Frost was standing on the snowy floor, majestic as his claws clenched and retracted in the drifts. His icy blue scales shimmered in the winter sun, the eternal state of the sky his far north, and cast azure spots on the shimmering snow. As she looked at him, a startling realization hit her- Frost was now a grown dragon. She had found him when she had been five years old, and now they were both nine- well, she was nine, and he was ten. They had spent four years together. Now they were both adults. She felt really old all of a sudden. Frost turned his head to watch her, and everything stopped moving. Emotions welled up in her heart, things she had not felt for a long, long time, and for the first moment in years, Flurry felt... Well, she felt released. “Frost?” she finally managed to say, bumbling through a muddle of affection and confusion. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect, a hug, a nuzzle, an ecstatic exclamation, but at the very least, he would be happy to see her. Instead, he just turned his head away, the long, pale scar that cut across his eye startling against the iciness of his scales. “My name is Tundra Permafrost, Guardmember. Remember it well if you wish to stay in this Guard. Queen, you must go.” Queen Snowfall started to say something, and Blizzard was complaining, but Flurry heard nothing. The only noise she could hear was the rush in her ears, a rush of despair, and on her chest, the heart-mark darkened like a malevolent omen. Who are you, Frost? The handsome, kind dragonet I met four years ago? Or... Or have I lost you? Don’t leave me. Please don’t leave me. I love you... Chapter Fourteen: Training Time Flurry curled up in her nest, between two dragons in the long, low room that the Guardmembers slept in. She was in the female room, where all the dragonesses of the Guard slept at nights. The barracks were underneath the Great Icicle, in two secluded ice-caves deep under the snow-covered earth. It was surprisingly beautiful down here- whenever the lamp was turned on, the prismatic fractures of ice above glittered and sparkled like a huge, arching diamond. Flurry flipped on her back and groaned as she stretched her aching muscles. The singular nests were small for the other Guardmembers, but it fit Flurry snugly. The round stone bowls were raised above the floor, each one a few inches away from its neighbors, and each one fitted with a reservoir of water at the back and a lamp at the front, lit with flint and steel. Across the room, in icy niches, the dragonesses’ armor rested, each one polished so brightly it still gleamed faintly in the darkness. Flurry could see her set now, glinting back at her as she stared, upside-down, into space. Flurry had always been an early riser, and it was true even now. Not even the Champions were up yet, but here she was, waiting in the gloom for daybreak. Suddenly, a hind leg flew out from the left and hit her straight in the gut. All of the air went straight out of Flurry’s lungs in a puff of frostbreath and she lay there for a moment, winded. Once her breaths came normally again, she leaned over to the left and batted the dragoness on the snout. “Huh! Whazzup?” she moaned. “You hit me, Frigid.” whispered Flurry, batting the other Guardmember again. “Uh. Flurry. I was sleeping.” “Yeah. You winded me.” “I was unconscious.” Flurry sighed. “Just apologize, please.” “Fine. I’m sorry I winded you.” Frigid groaned. “Can I go back to sleep now?” “Yes.” There were a few moments of silence. Flurry tucked her head back under her wing. “Flurry?” “Yeah?” “I am actually sorry I hit you. I didn’t mean it.” Flurry lifted her wing and looked at her neighbor. Frigid had laid her shimmering blue-pink snout on the lip of her nest and was staring at her with regret in her eyes. “It’s alright. I forgive you.” Frigid brightened. “Really?” Despite the coldness of her heart and the wound from losing Frost- still fresh after two weeks- Frigid’s enthusiasm made Flurry smile. She realized that Frigid might even consider her a friend, something she hadn’t had in a long, long time. “Yes, real-” “RISE AND SHINE, DRAGONETS!!” Flurry jumped and ruffed her spikes out in shock. She looked to the left, where the entrance to the ice-cave was carved out in a gem-like arch. Blizzard was standing there, holding a lit lantern in her pearly talons and grinning maniacally. Around her, she could hear the other dragonesses groaning as they woke. As Flurry grabbed her tinderbox and lit her own lamp, Blizzard stalked down the hall, shining the lantern into the eyes of any dragon who was too sleepy and screaming insults at all of them. Frigid yawned widely, showing a maw of curved, deadly teeth, then shook herself out, her outspread wings brushing the slanting ceiling. Flurry stretched herself too, and was just about to clamber out of her nest and start putting on her armor when Blizzard arrived. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the new hatchling." snarled the Champion, shoving her lamp into Flurry's face so she was forced to blink. "Morning, Blizzard." she yawned, rubbing her eye with her wing. Blizzard suddenly snaked closer, her lip parting in a grimace. "What did you say, Guardmember?" she hissed in Flurry's ear. "Good morning, Queen's Champion Blizzard, ma'am!" she hurriedly stood to attention, raising her wing to her eye-ridge in a salute. "That's better." snarled Blizzard, and she continued to go down the hall, her voice stridently calling through the chamber. ❊❊❊ “Hup! Hup! Get on with it, you lazy dragonets? Are you Guardmembers or aren’t you? Make your Queen proud!” Flurry ran in pace, her iron armor clanging against her silver scales. All around her, the other Guardmembers panted and heaved, pacing back and forth. They were lined up in three identical rows, each dragon basically walking in place over and over again. Some of the younger IceWings- that is. around Flurry’s age- were practically having heart attacks, they were driving themselves so hard. Alone out of all of them, Flurry stood out. She wasn’t even panting that much. Frigid noticed this, and started to stare. “Flurry...” The silver dragoness turned her head. “Yeah?” “You’re not even that tired!?” “Nah.” Flurry shook her head. “What are you, a goddess or something?” exclaimed Frigid, her pointed blue tongue hanging out of her mouth as she ran. Flurry shook her head, then shrugged. “I’ve had training before. I’m used to it.” “All right, worms! Time for one-on-one combat! Let’s go, let’s go!” called Blizzard from a high-up ledge. Immediately, the IceWings separated and split into pairs. Flurry found herself standing next to Frigid, who was grinning at her. “What do you say?” she asked. Flurry looked up at her blue-pink snout and nodded. Two minutes later, Frigid was lying on the ground, moaning as Flurry primly rubbed her snout with her talons. Up above, Blizzard spotted the pair and growled. “That upstart Flurry is getting on my nerves.” she snarled. “All right, hatchlings!” she cried, raising her voice. “There’s a new exercise for today! All dragons against each other, one-on-one. The last IceWing standing wins! And go!” Blizzard sat back and smiled, rubbing her golden bracelet with her other paw. The Guardmembers were already splitting up, heading to different sides of the arena. A fight broke out, leaving one pale dragoness lying on the floor. Flurry won’t get out of this one unscathed. thought Blizzard, and she threw her head back to laugh. Category:Fanfictions Category:Fanfictions (Incomplete) Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon) Category:Content (Rainbow Phoenix Fangirls)